Brewer’s meal: Two chicken fried steaks, a triple meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet, a large bowl of fried okra, three fajitas, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream, and a pound of barbecue with a half loaf of white bread less

Brewer’s meal: Two chicken fried steaks, a triple meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet, a large bowl of fried okra, three fajitas, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream, and a pound of barbecue with a half loaf ... more

Photo: DirectToArchive

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Troy Davis, executed Sept. 21, 2011
Crime: Murder and assault with a deadly weapon for the shooting of an off-duty police officer in Georgia. His case became increasingly controversial leading up to his death, following suspicions that he did not get a fair trial. less

Troy Davis, executed Sept. 21, 2011
Crime: Murder and assault with a deadly weapon for the shooting of an off-duty police officer in Georgia. His case became increasingly controversial leading up to his death, ... more

Photo: Anonymous, Associated Press

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Davis’ meal: Declined. Davis fasted with supporters because he believed his life would be spared.

Davis’ meal: Declined. Davis fasted with supporters because he believed his life would be spared.

Photo: John Bazemore, Associated Press

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John Wayne Gacy, executed 1994
Crime: Assault, rape and murder of dozens of young men. He was known as the “Killer Clown.”

John Wayne Gacy, executed 1994
Crime: Assault, rape and murder of dozens of young men. He was known as the “Killer Clown.”

Photo: AP

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Gacy’s meal: Fried shrimp, a bucket of KFC original recipe chicken, fries and a pound of strawberries.

Gacy’s meal: Fried shrimp, a bucket of KFC original recipe chicken, fries and a pound of strawberries.

Photo: KFC, MCT

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Timothy McVeigh, executed 2001
Crime: Conspiracy, murder and use of a weapon of mass destruction for the Oklahoma City Bombing

Timothy McVeigh, executed 2001
Crime: Conspiracy, murder and use of a weapon of mass destruction for the Oklahoma City Bombing

Yowell was executed Oct. 9, but execution dates have not been set for Whitaker and Williams.

In their complaint, the prisoners stated that the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's supply of pentobarbital - the drug required by their execution protocol - expired at the end of September.

In anticipation of that, the department started acquiring other drugs as early as November 2012, the complaint states.

Plaintiffs' attorneys - Bradley E. Chambers, Bobbie Stratton and Jessica Hinkie of Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz - learned that the department had acquired propofol, midazolam, and hyrdromorphone, drugs not previously used in an execution, according to the complaint.

"Expert evidence available to date indicates that use of any of these drugs runs a substantial risk of grave pain," the complaint states.

U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes dismissed the suit Dec. 4, saying that, because the prisoners "do not know the means that Texas will select for their execution, their claim of an injury from that unknown means is hypothetical. Courts do not address issues that are not yet ripe."

Whitaker, 33, has been sentenced to die for a 2003 Fort Bend County double murder, while Williams, 32, is on Death Row for an abduction and murder in 2000.

Two days before Yowell's execution for the 1998 murder of his father, mother and grandmother, Hughes rejected the Lubbock man's claim that the drug could inflict constitutionally unacceptable pain.

Yowell, 43, was executed with compounded pentobarbitol purchased in September from Woodlands Pharmacy, according to the plaintiffs' amended complaint, filed Nov. 1.

Compounded drugs are "potentially problematic," depending upon the pharmacy used and the adequacy of the ingredients, the complaint states.

The department's practices in purchasing compounded drugs have been questionable, the complaint states. When the department bought its existing supply of midazolam and hydromorphone from Pharmacy Innovations, the purchase order stated the drugs were for "Huntsville Unit Hospital," which has not existed since 1983, the complaint states.

When the department bought compounded pentobarbital from Woodlands Pharmacy, it also listed Huntsville Unit Hospital on the form, the complaint states.

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